My aunt used to make aprons, lots of them. In fact, aprons have always been kind of a "thing" in my family. The women all seem to collect them. My uncle Gary used to have a restaurant and I still have one of his aprons from the restaurant in my kitchen - it's the one I use the most, actually. That could be because it's brown and it's really hard to make it look dirty.

One of the first sewing patterns I ever bought was for an apron, though I still haven't made that pattern. I fell in love with this pattern a few months ago online, and knew I had to have it - it's by Sew Liberated and called the Emmeline apron.

I really wanted to make the exact apron in the picture, but alas, it's difficult to find a lot of AMH's Chocolate Lollipop collection these days. I wound up finding some adorable fabrics from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird collection and I knew they'd be perfect for an apron.

My mother visited while I was still at work on this apron and overheard me telling a friend that garment sewing was just something I'm not any good at, and my mother tells me that if I could manage to make this apron that I could certainly try my hand at garment sewing. I think that's what I loved so much about this pattern - it feels like a retro dress in a lot of ways. Maybe one day I'll try sewing a dress...

Naturally, when the apron was actually on me and in use, no one snapped a picture. Not that I'm surprised, but if I don't take the picture in my family, no one else will. I did tell my husband to take a picture of the turkey coming out of the oven, and you can see a little bit of my apron there.

All in all, I really love this apron, though I worry that I will seriously cry when it (inevitably) gets dirty. Oh well, then I can make another one. :)

And in case you're curious about how Thanksgiving went, the main event of Thanksgiving wound up not being the turkey, at least not for my munchkin. From the moment I started making it, the flourless chocolate was all he could talk about. He kept talking about smelling it the day before Thanksgiving and as soon as we all sat down to dinner, that's all he could talk about. He ate every last crumb of it and declared it the best part of Thanksgiving.

*UPDATE * And because curious minds want to know...here's the recipe for my flourless chocolate cake...

1. Preheat oven to 375. Prepare an 8" round cake pan by greasing it, lining it with parchment, and greasing the parchment lining.
2. Melt your chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, and stir until smooth. Or, wait until it's really melty, then stir, making sure it's good and smooth.
3. Remove bowl and whisk sugar into chocolate, making sure it gets fully incorporated. Add your eggs and whisk well. (Yes, I know the chocolate is still hot, don't worry about your eggs.)
4. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over your batter, and whisk until just combined, then pour batter into prepared pan.
5. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes, until the top has formed a slightly crackled top. Cool cake in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate.

You can serve with powdered sugar, sifted over the top of the cake, whipped cream or ice cream. Or best of all, all of the above! This cake keeps quite well, at least a week, if kept in an airtight container.

Are you still recovering from Thanksgiving? I know I am, that's why I retreated to do some sewing last night after all the festivities died down and the dishes were done. I'm happy to say that I'm done with my pillow for the Pillow Talk {Swap}!

Have you heard about the Pillow Talk Swap? I feel so lucky to be involved in this one, and I have to say, this swap has been a lot of fun to participate in. There was an insane amount of talent in this group! Check out some of my personal favorites...

My partner's inspiration mosaic was pretty clear - she loves blues - and fortunately for me, I'm a fan, too, so I had some super ripe selections in my stash. It seemed my partner was really into geometric designs, so I my first thought was triangles. I'd been dying to try out some HSTs, so I thought a pillow would be a good, small scale way to give them a try. The verdict? I think I love them!

When I finished off this pillow and slipped it on my pillow form, I felt compelled to make my very own HST pillow. Alas, I've still got a boatload of holiday sewing to do, so it'll have to wait for now. Here's hoping the mailman brings me a beautiful pillow cover of my own real soon!

Holy moly, is Thanksgiving tomorrow? Must get to the kitchen, stat. Pies to bake, cakes to make, rolls to knead, yikes! Time for a quickie project update if nothing but for my own sanity, since December is going to be here next week! Just 30 days left until Christmas!

Still in progress -
That Girl Quilt Along - Working on creating the back, totally done with the top, phew!

Urban Lattice Quilt Along - Starting to cut my fabrics, still trying to get my hands on enough of my main solid. Thank you, Jo-Ann's, for the awesome 50% off coupon for Black Friday, I fully intend to stock up on some Kona solids (crossing my fingers that they have enough Coal for me!).

French Provence quilt - Quilting is complete! I've squared this quilt up and made the binding, now all I have to do is find the motivation to actually do the binding. {Fun.}

Checkbook wallet - Fabric is all cut, need to decide on an interfacing and go with it!

Super Why cape - Fabric is all cut, applique is made, just need to sew this bad boy together and make a bias binding strip to use as the collar so when the munchkin insists that Mommy or Daddy wear the cape, it will actually fit us rather than choke us.

Kermit the Frog shirt - Still trying to find the right greens for this one. The munchkin adores all things Muppet, especially Kermit, so I'm going to applique a shirt for him. I've got the applique template ready to rock and roll, just need the right green fabrics for Kermit's head and collar...

And just because I see my project list dwindling, I had an idea last night...I was thinking about maybe hosting a quilt bee next year. I'm already involved in two, and was thinking it might be fun to host one of my own, so tell me what you think. Am I crazy? I just might be!

I finished up the mug rug for my partner in the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap, phew! I'm excited to get it off in the mail today, along with some extra goodies for my secret partner.

Finished front!

Finished back - I love the way the outline quilting makes the back look really cool

After I finished this one off, I had some other ideas for mug rugs, and decided I would make a pair for both my brother and sister for the holidays, so I scrounged around in my scrap bins for some fabric that I thought they would like.

I used linen for the first time on these mug rugs, which was interesting to work with. I really like the texture that it gave to the mug rugs. It makes them feel like they're truly meant to be used. I will definitely use linen again, especially for this kind of thing. I love the crosshatch pattern that the linen has, it's so beautiful.

A pair for my brother, using Moda Origins and some Robert Kaufman Quilter's Linen

Some wonky lines on the Origins mug rugs

I was explaining the project to my mother on the phone, and she suggested I write a little note with each set to explain what a mug rug is. When I finished these up and realized how much they resemble potholders, I figured she was right.

A pair for my sister, using lots of random blue, gray, and white scraps and some Robert Kaufman Quilter's Linen

Teeny meandering quilting on the blue scrap mug rugs

So here's what I was thinking...

What am I? I'm a mug rug! What's a mug rug, you ask? A mug rug is a mini quilt, perfect for holding a mug of your favorite beverage and a snack, too. So, what are you waiting for? Use me!

P.S. - Things might be a little quiet over here on the blog this week, with all the prep for Thanksgiving going on at my house. I'm hoping to finish at least one more project this week before Thanksgiving, so stay tuned and have a wonderful holiday week!

Making softies is a lot of fun. I've made a couple over the last year, and I always find myself smiling while making them. They're just so cute you can't help but smile!

I was originally planning on making a growth chart for my nephew, but as I started the project, I decided that I wanted something to make something that a 9-month-old would actually love. I found a pattern for a dinosaur in One Yard Wonders, one of my favorite other-sewing-projects books, and knew it would be a big hit.

I made the mistake of cutting out the pattern pieces in front of my own munchkin, who quickly deduced that I was making a dinosaur. He promptly asked...or demanded while still saying please...that I make one for him as well. I let him pick out the fabrics for both his dinosaur and my nephew's, and I must say, I was quite impressed with his selection, he did a great job.

This pattern was super easy to follow, though I opted not to make a rolling dinosaur, as suggested in the pattern, if nothing but because the idea of working with wood frightens me and without my husband around to do the woodworking, I figured it would be smart to skip that step.

Now I must wrap them ASAP before my toddler wakes up and finds them!

P.S. - Want a fun softie to start with? How about a mermaid? Check out Kate's blog to find out about her recent mermaid party and to find a free Wee Wonderfuls mermaid pattern.

We're nearing the end of the That Girl...That Quilt Along, which is a bummer because I'm really enjoying it but exciting because I can't wait to curl up in my special birthday quilt. Especially after laying it out like this. This is usually the part of quiltmaking where I feel like I tend to speed up because I want so badly to have the finished product. I'm going to try my best to stick with the quilt along pace here, to try to teach myself to slow down and pay attention rather than make silly mistakes, as I often do when I speed quilt.

Speaking of speed quilting, I am loving chain piecing. It's one of those tips or techniques that makes you want to smack yourself it makes so much sense. Seriously, how did I not come across this and try this sooner? It really does make the piecing process go more smoothly and quickly.

This is the first time that I put quilt rows together in this fashion. Rather than just sewing block 1 to 2 and those merged blocks to block 3 and so on, you sew them together in pairs, leaving an odd block in the middle, used to join both pairs together and complete the row. I've often ripped out stitches when it comes to making rows (and then later sewing the rows together) because they don't come together quite straight, but this method worked beautifully. Have I completely confused you? Jennifer explains it much better here. Not a single ripped out stitch. Yippee!

I can't wait to see how everyone else is coming along, that's half the fun of a quilt along, isn't it? I love seeing all of the different fabrics that everyone is using. It's funny how different fabric can make a pattern seem completely new and different. I also can't wait to see the instructions on finishing up the quilt top tomorrow, we're so close to finishing up!! By the way, if you're itching to join another quilt along that's just starting up, go visit Cara's blog. Happy quilting along everyone!

Don't forget to link up over at Freshly Pieced for WiP Wednesday to see what everyone is working on this week!

So, here's what's currently in the works...

Pillow Talk Swap - I'm actually making some progress here. After doing some sketching at the park, I played around with some fabric stacks over the weekend and am finally playing around with some HSTs at the moment.

Ho Ho Holiday Swap - Finally doing some sewing on this one! I decided it was time to stop sketching and just jump right in. I'm hoping to get this wrapped up and in the mail before Thanksgiving for my partner. Must work on the scale of this...I think I'm in the mug rug groove, this would be a good size for a mug rug...not so much an ornament!

French Provence Quilt (formerly known as the Grandmother-in-law quilt) - Slowly quilting this one, taking my time. I'm really enjoying working on this one, so I'm going slowly and trying to savor every little bit.

Baltimore Windows table runner (formerly known as the Clermont Farms table runner) - Quite possibly the easiest project on my list, and yet it's still here, mostly because I keep putting it off in favor of other projects. I did manage to start sewing the squares (or windows) together, though, and I must say, they're looking awfully patriotric...

That Girl...That Quilt Along - Just finished wonk-ing my blocks today, and I'm hoping to find some time to sew my rows soon. I love how this is coming together!

Thanksgiving apron - I'm hosting Thanksgiving for my family this year and having quite a full house. And because it's not Thanksgiving if I'm not stressed out, I thought maybe a nice, pretty new apron might help me chill out a little (than and maybe a nice glass of wine!). I adore the fabrics I've chosen here, and can't wait to finish this one off. I've cut out the pattern pieces, and am starting to cut the fabric now.

Mystery birthday present - Can't say too much here, because my friend reads this blog, and I don't want her to find out what I'm making just yet, but I will say I'm about 40% done. Her birthday is shortly after Thanksgiving, so I'll reveal what I made then.

Checkbook wallet for my mother - I just started to cut out the pattern pieces for this one, but I'm hoping to whip this one out so I can wrap it and hide all evidence of it before my mother comes up for Thanksgiving next week! I'm using a Keykalou pattern, and so far, it looks super easy to follow and well written.

Mug Rugs for my siblings - I wanted to come up with something handmade I could make for my brother and sister, and their respective spouses, and I thought some scrapbusting mug rugs would be perfect. These are almost done, stay tuned!

Super Why cape - My son's latest television related obsession is Super Why. He spent a good year or so in love with Yo Gabba Gabba and has moved onto adoring pretty much everything on PBS, but especially Super Why. Naturally, the main character, Super Why, is his favorite, and I know he'd love to run around the house in a cape just like Super Why's! Thanks to AnneMarie for helping me match up the colors just right with her handy Kona color card. Just getting started on this one this week.

Urban Lattice quilt along - I'm thinking about joining this one right now. I favorited a picture of Cara's original quilt a while back when she finished hers, and now that she's starting a quilt along, I'm strongly considering jumping in, especially as Jennifer's quilt-along is on the downward swing. I could use one more gift quilt for the holidays...

It feels so nice to finish up a quilt. I often feel like doing a big happy dance after I finish sewing the binding onto a quilt, or better yet, when I pull a brand new, washed and finished quilt out of the dryer. It's sappy to say, but it's really cool to make something out of a stack of fabric.

This quilt is going up to Connecticut for my sister-in-law and her family. I'm sure they'll put it to good use, what with the ridiculous cold weather up there and such.

I began piecing this quilt using a Thimbleblossoms pattern, Wild Thing, though I wound up only adding one border rather than 2.

I really like the fun feeling the whirlygiggle blocks give to this quilt. I adore Kate Spain's 12 Days of Christmas line, and it worked really beautifully in these blocks. I love the whimsical feeling of this line, it's just so darling.

I'm debating whether or not I should encourage my sister-in-law to open this quilt up before the holidays so they can enjoy it longer. I'm planning on getting it in the mail right after Thanksgiving.

Size: 55" x 60"Fabrics: 12 Days of Christmas by Kate Spain for Moda Fabrics and Kona MeringueQuilting: Meandering stipple stitch in cream threadArgh Moment: Thread! While I was quilting, my thread was not cooperating. I had my thread break no less than 8 times, which never happened before on my machine. After cleaning out my machine, the problem continued, so I Googled it, and found that when it doubt, replace the needle. So I did, and all was well. Lesson learned!Yay Moment: Finally feeling confident when adding the border, certain that it was measured correctly and would line up just right.

By the way, this is what happens when you take a toddler with you to a quilt photo shoot. Insanity ensures!

Firstly, thanks to all of you who commented on my FMQ dilemma. I feel good about going with a combo of outline quilting and a meandering stipple, and I'm excited to get started on it. But first, must finish up a few projects. Phew, another holiday gift done!

I love bags, I love making them. And I adore the free patterns that Artsy Crafty Babe offers up, the Pleated Tote and the Phoebe bag (which I'm also in the process of making for another gift!). This Pleated Tote was fun to put together and my first attempt at darts. I had to dig out my sewing bible, S.E.W., to make sure I was doing them correctly, but that's precisely what my reference shelf is for, right?

Speaking of which, did you notice that I have a new page on my blog? On the right hand side, you'll find My Bookshelf, which is a direct link to Amazon, with everything that actually sits on my shelf (and one pre-order that will hopefully soon be on my shelf as long as Santa pulls through!). There's some books for inspiration, some for how-to's, you'll find a little bit of everything there.

Anyway, onto my project finish!

And here's what happens when you try to take project finish photos at night. He's so happy to help in my sewing room!

This bag was inspired by a black and white photograph of my mother's mother, my maternal grandmother. She used to grow poppies, and the only remaining photograph we have of her in the family is of her in her poppy garden. When I saw Laura Gunn's Poppy collection a while back, I knew I would wind up using some of it to make my mother something for Christmas, and I felt inspired to do a handbag.

This bag had some challenging elements for me - eek, darts and pleats, oh my! But I'm so pleased with how it turned out and glad I kept going despite my moments of uncertainty. I will definitely be making this pattern again, for myself, once I finish all of my holiday sewing. Or when I need a break from all of the holiday sewing!

Someone is itching to use the sewing machine for the first time. Um...no, you're not old enough yet!

I'm also going to be making a coordinating checkbook wallet to go with this bag, as that's the one thing my mother has actually asked me to make! I'll be using a pattern by KeykaLou, thanks to the tip from Jennifer last week about her wonderful patterns.

In other news, I decided to make a plush stegosaurus for my 9-month old nephew for Christmas. I was cutting out pattern pieces at the dining room table during lunch yesterday and my toddler actually figured out what I was making based on the pattern pieces (body, spikes, feet, and tummy). He promptly demanded that I make him one as well. At least he said please for once. Add it to the list!

This week I'm hoping to start quilting the simple quilt I'm making for my grandmother-in-law, Joan. She was once a quilter herself and now suffers from pretty severe macular degeneration and spends most of her time listening to audiobooks with her cat. Her sight is extremely blurry, though I don't believe she's classified as legally blind. The quilt I'm making for her is very simple - see the sketch below.

I used charm squares to create a floating rectangle, basically - floating on some Kona Meringue - and am now debating how to quilt it. First, I thought I'd stipple it. It would make great texture for my grandmother-in-law to enjoy. Then, I thought I'd straight-line it, to play with the super geometric design.

Then, I had a crazy idea. What if I did both?

Let me explain, then you can tell me that I'm crazy. What if I outline quilted the charm square rectangle, and then stippled in all of the negative space/solid? Would that be really weird? Or do you think it's really cool? I'm not 100% sure what I think of it exactly, but I was thinking it just might be awesome...

The snot fairy has arrived at our house, visiting my munchkin. We've almost gone through an entire box of tissues since she made her brazen appearance last night. Naturally, the day's been short of sewing time for the most part. I did manage to find some time to finish my blocks for the That Girl...That Quilt Along, though.

I am super excited about this quilt, if only because I am the lucky recipient of it! When I first joined the quilt along, I had thought it would make an easy holiday gift, but as I picked out my fabric, I decided it would also make an awesome birthday present for myself next month, so that's the plan.

But the other 10%? I'm not so sure. I really wish there weren't any all green blocks like this. They feel out of place with the Azure...

This one is definitely my favorite though. I love this medallion print, especially in the aqua colorway!

I'm hoping that once I lay out the quilt that I'll feel more confident about that Azure. I will definitely pick up some more of it to have in my stash, it's a beautiful color and complements Bliss just beautifully! Can't wait to see what Jennifer cooks up for our next step in the quilt along tomorrow :)

First off, let me warn you all. There are only 44 sewing days left until Christmas. And that's not counting shipping days! Eek!

So, today's the first day of Lee's new Work in Progress Wednesday linky. I'm so glad she's starting this, it gives me an excuse to make another list every week!

Back in my professional days, I was known to have lots of different projects going at once. Now, as a quilter, I'm no different. Especially with the holidays rapidly approaching, I've got a ton of projects all going at once. Let's see, there's...

1. Christmas Whirlygiggles quilt - Hot off my machine, just finished quilting this bad boy last night. I've put off quilting this one for a while, but now that I did it, I'm relieved for it to be almost finished. I've got to it ship off to Connecticut when it's all done, so I'll be super happy to check this one off my list. I waffled on how to quilt this one, but I'm glad I wound up stippling this one, it really lets the whirlygiggles stand out.

2. Grandmother-in-law quilt - I started this quilt last week, on a whim, trying to come up with what-on-Earth to get my 90-something grandmother-in-law for Christmas. She is quite possibly the hardest person on my list to shop for from year to year. She has macular degeneration and loves to listen to audiobooks, so I thought a nice quilt to curl up under might be a really awesome gift for her. The quilt top is fully done, though I haven't made the back just yet.

3. Poppy Pleated Tote - There's only one picture in existence of my maternal grandmother, whom I met only once when I was very young. It's black and white and she's standing in a poppy field. When I saw Laura Gunn's Poppy collection, I just knew that I needed to make something for my mother with those gorgeous prints. Enter Artsy Crafty Babe's Pleated Tote pattern. Yay! This one is almost done! Just need to slipstitch the inside lining, then all done.

4. Clermont Farms Table Runner - Started to cut some fabrics for this one, though that's about as far as I've gotten! I'm using a Moda Bake Shop tutorial, called City Windows, and it looks like it will come together super easy.

5. That Girl...That Quilt Along - I'm behind :( I've managed to sew on the white border, but not my aqua border just yet. My blocks are sitting on my ironing board, waiting to be pressed, and I'm hoping I'll get caught up today.

I love checking things off my To Do list. I have always been a list person, so much so that I sometimes have lists of lists! This time of year is my most list-heavy, between planning holiday budgets, gifts, and meals, and it should come as no shock that I'm rocking a pretty hardcore To Sew list for the next two months, with two awesome swaps that I'm involved in as well as a bunch of handmade holiday gifts. But today, I got to check off another item from two lists - my holiday gift list and my To Sew list. Yippee!

I used a pattern from P.S. I Quilt, one Rachel so aptly named the Lickety Split table runner. The pattern comes together super easy, I highly recommend it!

I worked on practicing my outline quilting on this one, that was pretty fun. I adore the effect that outline quilting gives. Having used a simple Kona solid for the back, the outline quilting totally stands out and looks really cool on the back. Here's hoping it's not too modern a look for the recipient.

Stay tuned on Wednesday to see how clogged my sewing desk is becoming! I've probably got way too many projects in progress at the moment, so it's going to be a lengthy WIP list! And don't forget to check into what's going on at Fabric Tuesday at QuiltStory, I always love the inspiration I get over there.

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